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ARRI M18 ballast question

Andrae Palmer

Andrae Palmer

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Got the ARRI 1200/1800W Electronic Ballast With DMX & ALF (multi voltage) and am wondering what line plug adapter do I need to plug this into a regular socket?
 
it came like that?
doesnt it normally ship with an edison plug?
 
The M18 ballast only draws 18amps at 110v so you need to put a standard 15A 110v edison plug on it. Is there a reason you are trying to power it off of a dryer plug or a 250v dryer outlet?
 
Travis Moody said:
The M18 ballast only draws 18amps at 110v so you need to put a standard 15A 110v edison plug on it. Is there a reason you are trying to power it off of a dryer plug or a 250v dryer outlet?
Click to expand...

I've pretty much put a standard edison 20a plug on it... as pictured above. Is it normal for this ballast to come with stripped ends?
 
Yes, I think the last one I purchased had bare ends as well, they usually send them out like that from Arri since they can run on several different currents so you can choose your correct plug. I would still go with a 15A edison plug though as that 20A may bone you sometimes on set and in lots of 12/3 stingers. The 15A hubble plug is pretty much standard in the industry for these type of 20A applications.

I think from time to time some sellers will put a plug on before they ship it as a courtesy.

Hope this helps.
 
Andrae Palmer said:
I've pretty much put a standard edison 20a plug on it... as pictured above. Is it normal for this ballast to come with stripped ends?
Click to expand...



When the Arrimax 1800 first came out there was a lot of discussion on these boards regarding this very issue. According to that thread the reason that the ballast was shipped without a plug is that Arri does not want to assume the liability of putting an underrated 15A Edison Plug on the ballast. The Arri 1800W Baby Max was really designed for 230V markets like the European Union where its’ Apparent Power of 2250KVA fits comfortably in a 230V/16A circuit. In 120V markets like the US it works best on a real film distribution system where every circuit is 20 Amps, you know what is on the circuit because you are loading it yourself, and because you are distributing the power yourself from a tie in or generator, you can bring the receptacle to the light and thereby eliminate under-rated plug ends and minimize line-loss. But, if your style of shooting requires that you run multiple stingers to plug into a wall or generator outlet, you will likely have problems with 15A plug ends or receptacle overheating. That’s because, with an Apparent Power of 2250VA, it will draw 20.5 amps at 110V not the 18 Travis suggests. It will always trip the common 15amp house circuit and will trip a 20 Amp circuit if there is something else, like a computer or light, on the same circuit. Where you can't always know what else is on the same circuit, or even if it is a 20 or 15 Amp circuit, it is risky to plug the Baby Max into the wall.

Putting a 20A Edison plug on it will make it incompatible with a lot of electrical services. It is better to put a good “hospital grade” 15A plug on it and take several precautions. The first precaution you must take is to find a dedicated 20A circuit – it is a safe bet that the outlet that the refrigerator is plugged into is a dedicated 20A circuit. If there is an outlet directly below a window, it is likely to have been wired for a window air conditioning, so it too is likely to be a dedicated 20A circuit. But, even if you are able to find a dedicated 20 Amp circuit the draw of the 1800W Baby Max is just too close to the threshold of the circuit to operate reliably if you need to run AC Extensions with 15A connecters to the ballast. The reason being that line loss from a long cable run, or increased resistance from an overheated plug end, will cause the ballast to draw more than 20 Amps. It has been my experience that quite often the stinger plug-ends overheat because they are only rated for 15 Amps. The increased resistance that results from the heat causes the voltage to the ballast to drop and so it has to draw more power to maintain the 2250KVA Apparent Power load. At 110V it will draw 20.5 Amps. So the second precaution to take is, if you can, plug the ballast directly into the wall outlet and use additional head feeder cable to reach the light rather than using AC extension to reach the ballast placed next to the light.

The same is true of operating 1800W Baby Maxs on the 20A circuits of portable generators. To the problem of line loss and overheating plug ends, you have the added problem that as you add load on portable generators their voltage output drops. It is not uncommon for a generator to drop 10-15 volts under full load. The 1800W ballast that drew 20.5 Amps at 110 Volts will draw 22.5 Amps at 100 Volts to maintain the 2250KVA Apparent Power load. I have found that the only full proof way to power an 1800W Baby Max on portable gas generators is from a 240V circuit through a 240v-to-120v step down transformer. A transformer will convert the 240V output into a single large 120V circuit that is more than capable of powering the 20.5A load of a 1800W Baby Max. And, if the transformer is outfitted with a voltage selector switch, you can compensate for the voltage drop on the generator and cable run by boosting its’ output to 120V. Operating at 120V, the 1800W Arrimax will only draw 18.75Amps. Using a transformer as a distro box will also enable you to run a 60A whip and drop a Snack Box next to the ballast so you won’t have a problem with 15A stinger ends melting.

Peter Berger
 
Thank you so much Peter for this informative post. Any idea where I can get those "hospital grade" 15a plugs?
 
Got this baby up and running with a 15A Pass & Seymour plug (LED read out). Thanks everyone for the advice.

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